My Dear Members of PAAMA UK!
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah.
May the Lord of mankind open unto you all the gates of His mercy and may He so ordain that you are always accompanied by the supplication of His angels.
At the stroke of the midnight hour, nations across the world euphorically celebrated the arrival of the New Year with magnificent firework displays across major cities. Sadly, for many this only occasioned a pretext to drink, socialise and engage in merry-making. As Ahmadi Muslims, however, the dawn of this new year is an opportunity for us to render thanks and praise to Allah, the Almighty, for His countless blessings in the years gone and to beseech Him to bestow on us even greater bounties and shelter us under the vast mantle of His impenetrable protection in the years to come.
Alhamdulillah, 2014 was a blessed year in which Allah showered His immense grace upon the Pan-African Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK. For my part, I am obliged to you all for your continued prayers, support, co-operation and obedience.
While for many the New Year will give rise to trite resolutions about eating, drinking or shopping less, for us Ahmadi Muslims the birth of the New Year should be marked by much more loftier concerns. We should resolve more than ever before to become more righteous, more sincere in our devotion and more eager in our response to the call of duty. We should resolve more than ever before to abide by the Ten Conditions of Bai’at as prescribed by the Promised Messiah (as). We should resolve more than ever before to obey all the dictates and directives of our Beloved Huzur (aba). The dawn of each year should remind us that we are on this earth only for a finite time and should draw our attention to the following Divine exhortation of the Holy Qur’an:
“By the testimony of time, surely, man is in a state of loss, except those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to accept truth, and exhort one another to be steadfast.” (Ch.103: Vs.2-4)
It is my sincere hope and prayer that all members of the Pan-African Association take heed of this Heavenly guidance and that through humble prostrations before the Almighty we are able to stand tallest amongst the servants of Islam and Ahmadiyyat.
May our Lord make 2015 the year of our true spiritual awakening and may He enable us to become more devoted and dedicated to Khilafat than even before. Ameen.
A very happy and blessed New Year to you all.
Wassalam.